312 Recent Literature. hulp 
the characteristics of the avifauna of the State are pointed and the 
educational value of bird study in the schools commented on; ‘A 
Twenty-three years’ Record kept by Dr. A. L. Child of Plattsmouth, 
Neb.,’ by Dr, R. H. Wolcott; ‘Additional Notes and Observations on 
the Birds of Northern Nebraska,’ by Rev. J. M. Bates, notes on 62 
species; ‘The Bird Fauna of the Salt Basin, near Lincoln,’ by J. S 
Hunter, with notes on 8g species; ‘Some Bird Notes from the Upper 
Elkhorn,’ by Merritt Cary, notes on 208 species; ‘Some notes on the 
Nesting of the Raptores of Otoe County, Nebraska,’ by M. A. Carriker, 
Jr., ‘How to Popularize Ornithology,’ by Wilson Tout, advocating the 
study of birds in schools; ‘A Plea for the English Sparrow,’ by Law- 
rence Skaw, a native of Denmark who, believing the English Sparrow 
to be harmless in his native land considers it desirable here; and ‘Sug- 
gestions as to an accurate and uniform Method of Recording Observa- 
tions,’ by Dr. R. H. Wolcott, recommending a more exact use of terms 
in describing a bird’s relative numbers. 
The formation of State Ornithological Clubs is always a matter for 
congratulation and the first publication of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ 
Union, assures us that this new association will exert a widespread 
influence in increasing our knowledge of Nebraska birds and in arousing 
an interest in ornithology in that State. —F. M. C. 
Chapman’s ‘ Bird Studies with a Camera.’ !— In this neat volume the 
author embodies the results of several years’ hard and painstaking labor 
in a comparatively new field —that of photographing birds in a state of 
nature. In his introductory remarks the author says: ‘‘ Bird photography, 
as I would encourage it, does not mean simply photographing birds; it 
means the use of the camera as an aid in depicting the life histories of 
birds.’”? With that end in view, Mr. Chapman has presented us with an 
attractive and pleasing work which cannot fail to be of the utmost interest 
to the bird student, because of the great number of ornithological facts 
recorded therein by the camera. 
Chapter I which treats of the bird photographer’s outfit, takes up the 
subject of the camera, lens, shutter, etc. The practical tests which the 
author has given most of the apparatus now on the market, with the 
additional advantage of being in a position to compare notes with a wide 
circle of professional and amateur photographers, and thus reap the 
benefit of their experience, enables him to speak authoritatively on these 
1 Bird Studies | with a Camera | With Introductory Chapters | on the Outfit 
and Methods | of the Bird Photographer | By Frank M. Chapman | Assistant 
Curator of Vertebrate Zodlogy | in the American Museum of Natural His- | 
tory, and Author of Handbook of Birds | of Eastern North America, Bird-Life, 
etc. | With over one hundred photographs | from Nature by the Author | New 
York | D. Appleton and Company | 1900 — 12mo, pp. xvi + 218. $1.75. 
